Repairing leaks and water damage- Sunspot!

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Pam,

Hmm, your striping pic answered a lot of questions.

Remember how you had two VIN's? The shorter one indicated yours was one of the leftover frames from 1978 that they then built on in 1980 and reconfigured that VIN for that. Well, apparently this one didn't sell, so they decided to redo it for a 1982 model so they not only assigned the new VIN, but they also re-striped it with the correct striping for 1982. The hidden striping you saw there is the correct striping for '78-'80 Sunspots. Does it look like the old striping continues underneath, or does it look like they cut it and peeled the old off?

I have to agree with John, the shackles and bushings are probably your problem. If you want to see if you can make it better, spray those bolts with whatever you used. This will only last like a day or so, but it might eliminate the noise temporarily so you'd know if that's the problem. Based on all the rust though, it wouldn't hurt to change them out.

Is the tire with no white wall on the inside a Goodyear? That looks like one of the OEM tires!

Jon

[dotthespot]

Whew! Lots of information! Yes, the striping really does confirm what you had already reckoned, Jon about how this little girl came to be! It does seem as though the old decal work (at least that which was visible) was peeled away and replaced. How interesting!

I think the tire you are referring to IS a Goodyear, but I'll have to check the next time I see Dot. In any case, I have three different tires!

I will have the shackles and bushings replaced and shouldn't have too much trouble locating parts. A good friend of mine is the manager at Napa in Cranbrook so she should be able to help me out. There are also a few utility trailer outfits in town that would be able to help me out. In fact, when the body work is done on Dot, I'll probably take her straight over to one of them and have them look at it for me. Seems fairly straightforward!

My handyman is great and I've been helping with it, too (pulling staples and cleaning old butyl tape off the metal). I'm going to be there when the front window goes back in, since I plan to re-seal the two side windows myself. We're also going to clean up the roof vent; it was recently replaced, but they did a crap job of sealing it (doesn't leak, but it's messy).

Haven't found paneling yet, but I'm prowling the re-use centres at the local dumps and should be able to find something. If not, I have picked out some paneling that is very close to what is on the side walls. The guy at Home Hardware looked at me like I had five heads when I went in there and asked for ugly '70s paneling!

Two steps closer to getting her on the road!

Here's another question for you all: how do you feel about "flipping the axle"? Just curious, I don't know if I'll do it; I think I'll have to take her on a few trips before I know whether it's a good idea.

Thank you again for all the help!

Pam.

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Pam,

Somewhere I have official confirmation that the original tires from that generation were Goodyear Power Streaks. Of course I can't find that note now, but I did find a record I had of a spare tire and tire cover that was being sold from a late '80s coach that had that same kind of tire. You've probably heard of the Goodyear Marathon trailer tire these days, the Power Streak was pre-Marathon...

I think you might find an axle flip is probably not needed. The trailer is so short that it probably won't have clearance issues anywhere. I think the only thing you'd have to worry about is the tank drain out the back there.

For information about the axle flip, Marshall (purplesuebug) is the one to ask. His original Sunspot already had an axle flip due to the previous owner having to replace the holding tank, and the only replacement that the previous owner could get was taller than the original which required the coach to be raised to keep the axle from hitting the tank on a bump. I'm pretty sure I recall Marshall saying that he would like to put it back down to the stock height, but of course he needed a tank to do that, which I think is part of why he is collecting parts Sunspots.

Since you basically have to sit down into a Sunspot, I think it might make getting into bed a little more uncomfortable with having the coach higher. It might also make working in the kitchen area a little more difficult. I don't really recall with how Marshall's was height wise on me for the kitchen area (other than the whole thing is really small!!).

Just curious, what kind of tow vehicle are you pulling it with?

Jon

[dotthespot]

Thanks, Jon! That sounds like reasonable advice when you put it like that.

I'm towing with a Nissan Xterra. I have a four-inch ball drop that works perfectly; she's nice and level!

I'll check on the tire when I see her next!

Pam.

[JohnB]

Pam

I'm with Jon on really not needing an axle flip on a TT that short. Here is a pic of yours




The main reason folks raise the TT is because they are dragging the back of the TT frame in the ground as the rear overhang is so far back being low drags.

Your rear overhang of the camper, (distance from back bumper to TT axle) is so small that the condition may never practically exist.

And then like Jon pointed out the rear kitchen just became 4" taller

Good luck

John

[JohnB]

Tires, do you know how to read the DOT date code? If you are at or over 5 years old it is time to replace regardless of thread.

See here for how to read the code

Tire Tech Information - Determining the Age of a Tire